Dancing With The Dragon

1.07.14 | LITM, 140 Newark Avenue, Jersey City

"Dancing with the Dragon" represents a new works by John Terence Ruddy and John Fathom.

John Fathom delves into man's battle with the devils & demons inside us as well as man's relationship to vice. With his illuminated sculptural paintings he considers the difficult human emotional experiences that lead us towards it, while in his sculptural furniture styled pieces he takes a more direct and utilitarian approach -creating functional works that treat wine and whiskey like a sacrament that deserves a cautious reverence through Wine & Whiskey furniture displays.

Ruddy's oil paintings are presented as an epic play in theatrical form inspired largely by classical Indian dance and mythology. Heroines and Heroes engage in allegorical struggles with monsters, demons and spirits in the tradition of sagas like the Ramayana and Mahayana. With the canvas as a proscenium, figures perform in a ritual battle to triumph over ancient symbols of ignorance and fear.

Artist Bios: John Fathom lives and works in Jersey City. He is the founder of 660 Studios and Co-Director of Rock Soup Studios, an arts production/ artists coop exploring the arts through collaborative exhibitions.

John Ruddy is a Jersey City based artist who has exhibited widely throughout the NY metro area and abroad. He is a graduate of the Rutgers Art History Dept. and a founding member of the JC Artist collective Rock Soup Studios at 660 Grand St. His work over the years has explored such diverse subjects as World Religion, Linguistics, Terrorism and War.